GEOFF SIMKINS TRIO - In A Quiet Way
Symbol SR20170301
Geoff Simkins (alto); Dave Green (bass); Nikki Iles (piano)
Geoff Simkins describes his music as ‘rather more Edward Hopper than Jackson Pollock’. Could also be ‘rather more Jane Austen than Norman Mailer’. The school of music that has emanated from Tristano places a high premium on intelligent improvisation. Over the musical decades of turbulence and changes it has probably been difficult to adhere to that faith. Simkins has.
Dave Green is one of the real heroes of UK jazz, with his fleet but solid playing. It was Dave, after all, who powered the dynamic ‘Captain Adventure’. Here, his task is different: the power is reined in and subtlety is on show. Nikki Iles enjoys the challenge of weaving her lines through the paths charted by Green and Simkins.
The recording serves Iles and Simkins well but Dave Green’s bass is sometimes not well served. He is often felt rather than heard. However, during his solos the elasticity, the masculinity and the fluidity of his playing comes across well.
Simkins is a subtle improviser with a tone that has just the right amount of grit and variation of tone. Simkins’ choice of pieces is adventurous. Just look through the titles, these are not run of the mill picks. ‘Elsa’ by Earl Zinders is not a tune that will be familiar to many. The opening of Lee Konitz’s ‘Friend-Lee’ with Simkins duetting with Green is a joy. When Iles joins in with unison lines with Simkins Tristano would mightily approve. Here is technique powered with exuberance.
A title like ‘Beija flor’ by Nelson Cavaquinho prepares you for some South American rhythms. They are there but you have to listen carefully as the trio sways gently to the melody. ‘Sareen jurer’ was part of the Bill Evans’ book.
Hammerstein Kern’s ‘Nobody Else but Me’ lifts the tempo and conveys a sense of enjoyment. ‘Mooch too early’ has wonderful unisons. A variation on ‘Mooch the Mooch’ written by Josh Rutner the piece is a jubilant tribute to technique. It is the kind of composition that some would describe as ‘fiendishly difficult’! Not for this trio, they just flourish.
Someone once remarked that it is the rhythmic styles that dates some jazz records. It is probably true. The absence of a drummer on this record might mean that you will be able to listen to this in thirty years without wincing. There is a musical purity here. Purity like that is hard won.
Jane Austen will probably last longer than Norman Mailer; Edward Hopper might last longer than Pollock.
Reviewed by Jack Kenny
Symbol SR20170301
Geoff Simkins (alto); Dave Green (bass); Nikki Iles (piano)
Geoff Simkins describes his music as ‘rather more Edward Hopper than Jackson Pollock’. Could also be ‘rather more Jane Austen than Norman Mailer’. The school of music that has emanated from Tristano places a high premium on intelligent improvisation. Over the musical decades of turbulence and changes it has probably been difficult to adhere to that faith. Simkins has.
Dave Green is one of the real heroes of UK jazz, with his fleet but solid playing. It was Dave, after all, who powered the dynamic ‘Captain Adventure’. Here, his task is different: the power is reined in and subtlety is on show. Nikki Iles enjoys the challenge of weaving her lines through the paths charted by Green and Simkins.
The recording serves Iles and Simkins well but Dave Green’s bass is sometimes not well served. He is often felt rather than heard. However, during his solos the elasticity, the masculinity and the fluidity of his playing comes across well.
Simkins is a subtle improviser with a tone that has just the right amount of grit and variation of tone. Simkins’ choice of pieces is adventurous. Just look through the titles, these are not run of the mill picks. ‘Elsa’ by Earl Zinders is not a tune that will be familiar to many. The opening of Lee Konitz’s ‘Friend-Lee’ with Simkins duetting with Green is a joy. When Iles joins in with unison lines with Simkins Tristano would mightily approve. Here is technique powered with exuberance.
A title like ‘Beija flor’ by Nelson Cavaquinho prepares you for some South American rhythms. They are there but you have to listen carefully as the trio sways gently to the melody. ‘Sareen jurer’ was part of the Bill Evans’ book.
Hammerstein Kern’s ‘Nobody Else but Me’ lifts the tempo and conveys a sense of enjoyment. ‘Mooch too early’ has wonderful unisons. A variation on ‘Mooch the Mooch’ written by Josh Rutner the piece is a jubilant tribute to technique. It is the kind of composition that some would describe as ‘fiendishly difficult’! Not for this trio, they just flourish.
Someone once remarked that it is the rhythmic styles that dates some jazz records. It is probably true. The absence of a drummer on this record might mean that you will be able to listen to this in thirty years without wincing. There is a musical purity here. Purity like that is hard won.
Jane Austen will probably last longer than Norman Mailer; Edward Hopper might last longer than Pollock.
Reviewed by Jack Kenny
